Earth moving apparatus



NOV- 12, 1957 E. A. DROTT EARTH MOVING .lxllaLxmx'rLJs 6 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. l5, 1954 I INVENTOR. w A 2m oui/0 @.(wa

6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

E. A. DROTT EARTH MOVING APPARATUS @www @mi Nov. 12, 1957 Filed Jan. 1.5, 1954 Nov. 12, 1957 E. A. DROTT 2,812,595

EARTH MOVING APPARATUS Filed Jan. l5, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 1N VEN TOR.

Fm.. 5l Ma@ Hwy Nov. 12, 1957 E. A. DROTT 2,812,595

` EARTH MOVING APPARATUS Filed Jan. l5, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 NOV- l2, 1957 E. A. DRoTT EARTH MOVING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan.- l5, 1954 if@ @-RWA I Nov. l2, 1957 E. A. DROTT 2,812,595

EARTH MOVING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 15, 1954 e sheets-sheet e INVENTOR.

Fe. l4 mr x Mofmae fi My United EARTH MOVING APPARATUS `Edward Albert Drott, Tomahawk, Wis.; Albert B. Houghton, Milton C. Drott, and John W. Drott, executors of the estate of Edward Albert Drott, deceased, assignors to Drott Manufacturing Corporation, a corporation of Wisconsin i Application January 15, 1954, Serial No. 404,275

12 Claims. (Cl. 37--117.5)

ing, shoveling by filling from the back, bulldozing, skid shoveling (filling from the front), back hoeing, and clam shell action.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter set fort-h and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation view of apparatus embodying the invention, the bucket being shown in dotted lines in a raised position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus; `Fig.` 3 is a front elevation view of the apparatus; Fig. 4 shows the bucket as positioned for conventional dumping; i

Fig. 5 shows the bucket in another dumping position; Figs 6 shows the bucket positioned for bulldozing;

Fig. 7 shows the bucket positioned for loading as la conventional shovel; p

Fig. 8 shows the bucket positioned for leveling and grading;

Fig. 9 shows the bucket in the loading position in which -the front is filled by the plow action of the back;

v i Fig. 10 shows the bucket in back-hoeing position;

Fig. 11 shows the bucket in one of its clam shell posiltions;

Fig. 12 is aldetailed View of the bucket positioning indicator;

. Fig. `13 shows the bucket in a position `for smoothing dirt;

Fig. 14 shows the bucket in a position for spreading dirt. In the drawings the numeral 16 designates generally a tractorfof known construction of the full crawler type `having endless propelling treads 17 running over the usual front and rear sprockets and the rollers associated with the tread frames 18, the rear sprocket being driven from the rear axle 19. The treads 17 and their frames are 'spaced from the body 20 of the tractor which includes the `usual engine, the transmission connecting the engine with the axle 19 and the drivers seat 21, and hydraulic supply and control equipment (not shown) for operating the rams or cylinders hereinafter described. The tractor may yalso -be of the wheeled type without departing from the invention.

As herein shown, each tread frame has an upstanding Ibracket 22 providing a support for push beam or arm 23 `pivotally connected to it at its rearend by a pin 24 and extending forwardly in the space between the body and the adjacent tread with its front end 25 extending outwardly vin front of the tractor. Each front end 25 is pro- ;vided with a ground engaginglmeans or shoe 26.

ttes Patent` O i 2,812,595 Patented Nov. 12, 1957 fice `Each beam 23 is adapted to be raised or lowered with the parts hereinafter described associated therewith by a double acting hydraulic cylinder 27 pivotally connected at its rear end by a pivot pin 28 to the bracket 22 and having a piston working in said cylinder with its rod 29 operatively connected to the intermediate portion of the arm 23 by a pivot pin 30. Each of the cylinders 27 has connections connecting its ends with a source of hydraulic pressure fluid so that its piston and the rod 29 may be moved in or out relative to the cylinder 27 or be hydraulically locked in a desired set position.

The shovel or bucket comprises a back 31 land a front 32, each of a width preferably equal to the width of the tractor or somewhat wider as shown.

The back 31 is formed of fabricated steel plates welded together and including a curved back plate 33, side or end plates 34, spaced sets of pivot plates 35, 36, and 37, and spaced bosses 38. The plates 35, 36, and 37 are pivotally connected by a pin 39 to the outer shoed end of one of the beams 23. The back plate 33 is shown as having a downwardly extending bulldozer blade end 40, but other forms of blade may be used with the front hereinafter described.

The front 32 is in the form of a scoop or bucket open at both ends and formed of fabricated steel plates weld-ed together and including sides 41 and a bottom 42, the sides projecting beyond the rear edge of the bottom and adapted in the closed position of the bucket to overlap the end plates 34. The rear edge of the bottom has a cutting edge or knife 43 secured or formed integral with it, and the top edge of the bottom has a similar knife 44 secured or formed integral with it. The front has its sides pivotally connected to the upper end of the back 31 by pivot pins 45 mounted in the bosses 38 and in the sides 41 and spaced plates 46 secured to the front. The sides 41 and the plates 46 extend beyond the pivots to provide spaced arms 47 carrying pivot pins 48 forming connections for the rod ends 49 of hydraulic cylinders Sti# whose back ends are pivotally `connected by pins 51 to spaced sets of ears 52 secured to the back 31. The cylinders St) are of the double acting type and through the arms 47 act to swing the front 32 toward or away from the back 31 or hold it in any desired position of angular `adjustment relative to the back as determined by the setting of the control valves by the operator for controlling the hydraulic fluid supplied to, exhausted from, or held in the cylinders 50 in accordance with known practice.

Since the front 32 is carried by the back 31 and the back is pivoted to the outer ends of the arms on the pins 39, the bucket as a whole may be angularly adjusted relative to the arms 23 by swinging it about the pins 39 and holding it in the desired position of adjustment. For this purpose a double acting hydraulic cylinder 53 is mounted on each side of the apparatus by a pivotal connection on a pin 54 mounted on the bracket 22, and its r-od end 55 is pivotally connected by a pin 56 to one end of a lever 57 which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a pivot pin 58 carried by brackets 59 secured to the adjacent beam 23, the other end of said lever being operatively connected to the back 31 by a link 60,

its pins 61 and 62, and the plates 36 and 37. With this arrangement operation of the cylinders 53 by the introduction of hydraulic fluid into one end and exhaustion `from the other causes its piston end 55 to swing the lever 37 about its pivot 53 on the beam and through the link 60 lto swing or tilt the bucket or its back relative to the beams 23, and introduction of hydraulic fluid into both of its ends will act to lock its piston and the parts associated therewith in a fixed position. To facilitate positioning thebucket or its parts in the desired angular position, the cylinder 53 may have indexed positions 63 marked on it and the r-od end 55 carry an index member 64 or pointer which can be brought into line with any one ofthe indexed positions to set the bucket or its back in the desired working position.

.The bucket is shown, in 1 in a .transporting or Carrying position in which the pointer 6.4 ;is alined with the rst index position.' .the bucket ,then 'being tree to 4be `carried over the ,ground by the ,shoes 26 .riding on the ground. If now., pressure' liquid lis introduced into the head end of the cylinder 5 3 rto move the v pointer 64 back to its second indexed position, the top of the 'back 31 of the bucket 'is swung ahead slightly s o that the blade 40 is in ground contact and lparts of the shoes 2.6 ,are in ground engaging position as `shown in Fig. 8 `for Vlevel- Ying and grading work, and Ythe front 32 fis `thenuheld in `a. raised position .by ,its movement thereto by operation of the cylinderSt) to move its rod 49 ,inwardly as shown -in Fig. 8. In this position theforward movement of the .tractor causes the back 3 1 .to --smooth or .level ofi -the ground ,as it passes over it.

If, with the parts inthe position shown in Fig. 8, more pressure liquid is introduced into the head 4end tof the cylinder 53 to lmove the pointer to its fourth indexed position, the back 31 with .its ,blade y4 0 is swung vdown tothe position 4shown in Fig. 6 in which the shoes 26 are olthe v`ground and the blade is in aposition to act as a bulldozer, the front 32 being then in a raised ,position.

If the rod end 55 ofthe cylinder53fis `movedlinwardly to bring the pointer 64 to its third vindexed positionand the cylinder 50 is operated to swing the front `32 down to a position in which its lower blade 43 is ,in ground contact but spaced away from the blade 40 as shown in Fig. 9 and the tractor is moved forwardly, the earth is scooped up by the back 31 and thrown forwardly into the front 32-to load it, this type of action being preferable in some instances to a direct shoveling action byimpact of the earth with the front end of the front 32. In this position the edge 43 acts as a depth gauge.

If, however, a conventional shoveling action is desired, the front 32 by the operation of the cylinders 50 is swung .down to close the bucket, and the bucket is then tilted .to the position shown in Fig. 7 by the `operationof 4the cylinder 53, the pointer 64 then having .been moved to its fth indexed position.

For back-hoeing operation the front 32 .is swung away vfrom the back 31, and the back is tilted .f-ree of the ground as shown in Fig. `10, -so that whengthe tractor is fdriven rearwardly, a back-hoeing operation ,is .accomplished by the front, its lower blade V.4 3 then being `in contact with the ground. With the ,back in .thepgosition shown in Fig. 10 the pointer64 is in line with the next to the Vlast indexed position. For use of the 4bucket as a clam-shell the back 31 is swung stilliarther forwardly -fromtheposition shown in Fig. 10 tothe position shown in Fig. 1.1, in which case the pointer .64 is then in line .with the-last indexed mark, and thenthe front 32-on the operation of the cylinder 50 may be movedoutwardly as shown to take a load between it and-theback 3 1 and then be movedor swung toward `the back to scoop up ,this load which may be earth, rock, logs, or other material that it is desired to lift.

In those operations above described, the lled bucket may-be raised by the raising of thearms 23 to any dumping height up to the maximum, the dotted position vof -Fig. :1.

:'Ifhe filled bucket may be dumped in thefconventional .position shown in Fig. 4 by collapsing the cylinder 53. `Itis also desirable to be able to discharge the load .as shown `in Fig. 5 by collapsing cylinder 50 and swinging `open -the front 32. This allows `more dumping clearance ginder the lowest position of the bucket and also facilitates the discharge of sticky materials.

Figs. 13.,and 14 show the other positions of the `bucket thatnnay be used. In Fig. vv13 the back 33 -isin the/same general angular position relative to the Yarrns `2 5 as ,in

Fig. 11, but its edge 40 is in ground contact while the front 41 has been raised somewhat from that of Fig. 1"1, and in this position it may be used for smoothing dirt.

In Fig. 14 the shoes 26 are in ground contact while the back 31 has been tilted up from the position shown in Fig. 8 and as the machine proceeds in the direction of the arrow, dirt from the back is spread out in front of it. It is to be noted that in Figs. 8 and 14 the arms 25 are .in substantially the same position, but the back 31 is in .dilerent tilted positions relative to said arms ,to obtain -diterent digging etects, the Yback being tilted or swung about the pins 39. Also the `position of the arms -for the operations shown in Figs. 7, 10, and 13 is the same, but the tilting of the back and the front relative to the arms brings about the different digging effects. Thus the control of the swing of the back of the bucket as a whole about the outer ends of the arms 25 is of importance.

While I have shown hydraulic cylinders 50 at `each end of the back for swinging the front, I may also use a single hydraulic cylinder similar to one of the cylinders 50 and of requisite capacity centrally positioned relative to the bucket'to perform the same functionof controlling the front of the bucket. Also while the use of the lever 57 as a part of the linkage controlling the angular adjustment of the bucket back 31 Ais preferred, the bucket could be controlled by linkages other than `shown or ,by

.direct connections to hydraulic cylinders.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to .any particular form or arrangement of parts except in so far as such `limitations are included in the claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a material handling apparatus, the combination with a vehicle, of a pair ,of arms swingingly mounted on the vehicle and projecting beyond one end thereof, means for raising and lowering Seid arms, shoes carried by the outer ends of said arms, a bucket having a back pivotally mounted on the outer ends of said arms and a.

front pivotally mounted at its upper end to the upper -portion of said back, power operatedmeans `for adjusting the angular position of said back -relative to vsaid ,arms and shoes in the lowered position ofsaidarrns, and

power operated means for angularly adjusting said front; relative to said back so that a plurality of different types of material handling operations may be effected.

`2. In a material handling apparatus', the combination with a vehicle, vof a pair of .arms swingingly mounted on the vehicle and projectingbeyond one end thereofv, vrneans for raising and lowering said arms, a bucket having a back pivotally mounted on the outer ends of said arms and provided with a-bottom blade anda `front pivotally mounted on the upper portion of said back and Vhaving a lblade at,each end of its bottommeans for adjusting the angular position of said back relative to said arras in the lowered yposition of said Aarms and means forangularly adjusting lsaid front relative to said back s o that a plurality of different types of ymaterial .handling operations lmay be effected.

3. In a load handling apparatus, the combination `of a movable supporting means, means for raising and lowering said supporting means, `a bucket having aback pivotally connected at its lower end portion lto rsaid supporting means and provided with sides vand a bottom blade and having a front pivotallyconnected to the :upper portion of the back having a bottom and sides overlapping the sides `of said back in its closed position and having a blade at the back end of `its bottom in front of said overlapping sides and a blade at the ,frontend of said bottom, means for positioning-said backtinditerent angular positions relative to said supporting means `in the lowered position thereof, and means for :anguka vehicle, of a pair 0f arms lswingingly mounted vonthe vehicle and projecting beyondpne `end thereof, means for raising and lowering said arms, a bucket having a back pivotally mounted on the outer ends of said arms and a front pivotally mounted at its upper end to the upper portion of said back, power yoperated means for adjusting the angular position of said back relative to said arms in the lowered position of said arms and power operated means for angularly adjusting said front relative to said back so that a plurality of diiferent types of material handling operations may be eiected.

5. Load handling apparatus as dened in claim 4 wherein the back has a bottom blade.

6. Load handling apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein the projected ends of the arms have ground engageable shoes.

7. In a material handlingapparatus, the combination with a vehicle, of a movable supporting means, a bucket having a back pivotally connected to said supporting means and provided with a blade at its lower end, a front pivotally mounted at its upper end to the upper portion of said back and having a blade at its leading edge, power means for angularly adjusting said back relative to said supporting means in the lowered position of said supporting means, and power means for angularly adjusting said front relative to said back.

8. In a load handling apparatus, the combination of a tractor vehicle, supporting means pivotally connected to said vehicle and extending beyond one end thereof, a bucket including a back pivotally mounted substantially at its lower end on the extended end of said supporting means and a front pivotally connected at its upper end to the upper portion of said back, power operated means for raising and lowering said supporting means, power operated means for tilting said back relative to said sup porting means in the lowered position of said supporting means, and power operated means for tilting said front relative to said back.`

9. Load handling apparatus according to claim 8 in which the supporting means are a pair of arms having ground engaging shoes at their extended ends adjacent the pivotal connection of said back with said supporting means.

10. Load handling apparatus as defined in claim 8 in which the front in its closed position relative to the back forms therewith a shovel and in which the front has a lowered open position relative to the back to form a back hoe.

l1. In a load handling apparatus, the combination with a vehicle, of a pair of arms swingingly mounted on the vehicle and projecting beyond one end thereof, means for raising and lowering said arms, a bucket having a back member and a front member each including a top and a bottom, said back member being pivotally mounted on the outer ends of said arms and said front member being pivotally mounted on said back at a position substantially above the bottom of each of said members for movement of the bottom of said front .member into and out of closing relation with the bottom of said back member, power operated means for adjusting the angular position of said back relative to said arms in the lowered position of said arms, and power operated means for angularly adjusting said front relative to said back so that a plurality of different types of material handling operations may be elected.

12. In a material handling apparatus, the combination with a vehicle, of a movable supporting means, a bucket having a back member and a front member each including a top and a bottom, said back member being provided with a blade at its bottom and being pivotally mounted on said supporting means and said front member being provided with a blade at its leading edge and being pivotally mounted on said back at a position substantially above the bottom of each of said members for movement of the bottom of said front member into and out of closing relation with the bottom of said back member, power means for angularly adjusting said back relative to said supporting means in the lowered position of said supporting means, and power means for angularly adjusting said front relative to said back.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,263,790 Moynihan Apr. 23, 1918 1,929,004 Pugh Oct. 3, 1933 2,326,338 Drott et al. Aug. 10, 1943 2,418,251 Drott Apr. 1, 1947 2,455,474 Drott et al. Dec. 7, 1948 2,470,779 Lankovski et al May 24, 1949 2,489,898 Kluckhohn Nov. 29, 1949 2,529,208 Andersen Nov. 7, 1950 2,668,631 Reese Feb. 9, 1954 

